Three idiots the other night was wonderful. Today it was Monsters, Inc., and that was FANTASTIC!
zoobi doobi zoobi doobi
Put that thing back where it came from or so help me!
Billy Crystal is special.
Has anyone seen the latest Harry Potter? The reviews Iâm reading here are bad.
The reviews here (in Taipei Times) were pretty good. They said it was exciting and emotional.
The best movie I have seen recently is Norwegian Wood (2010). I particularly liked the cinematography, which was beautiful. I found the story quite strange and enjoyed watching the characters. Strong acting but not overdone.
I guess the best and most moving this year was probably The Kings Speech. Nice production values, too. Something very special about the theme which we can all relate to on a deep and meaningful level. I guess they failed with acting Churchill (although his acting lines were great), but that guy is a tough act to follow. I guess they made him slightly smaller than life for this role.
I tried to watch The Thin Red Line because the director has a new movie out and a back catalog which has been so much lauded by critics. I tried, but could not be convinced that watching this movie was going to be worth the effort. The same war movie as has been made so many other times and occasionally in far more interesting ways.
The best thing about it is the way your eye is occasionally directed to the rest of life (the incidental) that is continuing on around the absurdity of the âdramaâ. But this does not make up for the trite stereotypes which consist the plot and characters. And it is supposed to be âmanlyâ. Balls. I think âmanlyâ is here just an excuse for the doing the bleedinâ obvious one more time, like how the romantic in romantic-comedy is often an excuse for trotting out the same old clichĂ©s.
Like most people already said The Kingâs Speech was pretty good. I was thinking that it showed a lot of patriotism. War time is like that I know, but there wasnât any cynicism or blatant corruption, except maybe the church officials; Derek Jacobi, you bad. I take it that the movie is mostly true?
Harry Potter and the Deathly Hallows: Part 2 (2011) An excellent end to the series after the disappointing Part 1, that should easily satisfy fans of the books and films. It pulled off all the emotional moments and satisfying dramatic plot points of the book, without sacrificing them to the usual extended action sequences. I think they still could have given it some extra lighting, but it was much better than the literally dim cinematography of the previous installment. The one thing I hated was the 3D; a stupid gimmick whic annoys the hell out of me, and I wish would just hurry up and go away.
Knowing (2009) Pretty dumb sci-fi. Nice start, and some satisfying aspects, but Nick Cageâs lead character was awful, and certain scenes seemed like clumsy attempts at getting some crowd-drawing scenes to stick in the trailer.
Cloverfield (2008) Very good monster movie, filmed in the âfound footageâ stlye (a la Blair Witch), which I really enjoyed. It was very interesting to see the Godzilla-style monster attack on New York from a âman-on-the-streetâ perspective, rather than an eye-of-god one.
The Keeper of Promises (1962) Great little Brazilian film about a guy who tries to bring his donkey on a pilgrimage to a church to keep a promise to a saint, and the media circus the erupts around him.
Queen Christina (1933) Excellent performance by Greta Garbo in a pre-code Hollywood film loosely based on the real Swedish queen who ruled as âKingâ of Sweden. Good material for sexual identity studies in there too.
Lady Snowblood 2: Love Song of Vengeance (1974) Not as good as the first movie, but still fairly entertaining Japanese martial arts film.
Lantana (2001) Excellent, though rather bleak, film which through the conenctions between a group of couples explores how they have become disconnected from each other, and paints a picture of very authentic seeming modern alienation.
Pandora and the Flying Dutchman (1951) A kind of modern re-telling of the story of the Flying Dutchman which I found good and bad in equal parts. The main story, the fantasy part and the central romance, I found boring and frankly quite stupid. However the setting and atmosphere (an island resort for the rich int he 30s) and the acting of Ava Gardner were both excellent.
[quote=âtrubadourâ]The best movie I have seen recently is Norwegian Wood (2010). I particularly liked the cinematography, which was beautiful. I found the story quite strange and enjoyed watching the characters. Strong acting but not overdone.
I guess the best and most moving this year was probably The Kings Speech. Nice production values, too. Something very special about the theme which we can all relate to on a deep and meaningful level. I guess they failed with acting Churchill (although his acting lines were great), but that guy is a tough act to follow. I guess they made him slightly smaller than life for this role.
I tried to watch The Thin Red Line because the director has a new movie out and a back catalog which has been so much lauded by critics. I tried, but could not be convinced that watching this movie was going to be worth the effort. The same war movie as has been made so many other times and occasionally in far more interesting ways.
The best thing about it is the way your eye is occasionally directed to the rest of life (the incidental) that is continuing on around the absurdity of the âdramaâ. But this does not make up for the trite stereotypes which consist the plot and characters. And it is supposed to be âmanlyâ. Balls. I think âmanlyâ is here just an excuse for the doing the bleedinâ obvious one more time, like how the romantic in romantic-comedy is often an excuse for trotting out the same old clichĂ©s.[/quote]
I loved the âThin Red Lineâ. I thought it was so much better than âSaving Private Ryanâ which overshadowed it when it was released, coz Mr Tom Hollywood Hanks was in it.
Just got back from watching it. It was exactly as I thought it would be. No surprises:
If you love the books and other films, youâll love it.
If you find the movie series agreeable, youâll find this installment agreeable.
If you wish the âboy who livedâ, hadnât lived, then you will hate it (well, actually you wouldnât have gone to see it in the first place).
I fall into the second category. I have seen all the movies and have read the final book. I found the first seven movies generally entertaining, but I found certain elements irritating. So, believe it or not, I found the final movie entertaining, with certain elements irritating.
It certainly was one of the better of the 8 movies. Fans wonât be disappointed.
Miscellaneous thoughts: At least Dobby died off in the previous movie, so we didnât have to deal with him again. It was nice to see a bit more of Maggie Smith. Unfortunately, Emma Thompsonâs role in the movie has been reduced to about 5 seconds. The effects are good and they manage to tie up most loose ends despite having a lot of ground to cover. Like Bu Lai En, Iâm not a big fan of 3D and for this movie it seemed particularly redundant.
Thanks. Iâll go see it after the better half resurfaces from the nether regions of Terra Firma, which would be a fortnight. I think I should see the movie, and I really like your review 
.
Emma Thompsonâs character Sybill Trelawney never played a big role in the books either. You know who I love?? Helena Carter as Bellatrix Lestrange, she is evil and hysterical and loyal, I mean she actually makes the character really believable. You know the scene in the HBP where she taunts Harry âI killed Sirius, HaââŠshe is cool!!!
I know. I just enjoy Thompson and so looked out carefully for her in this movie. If you blink, you might miss her. Iâd be interested to see if you can spot her in the movie. I donât think the friends I watched the movie with believed me when I said I had seen her. But I checked after I got home - she is listed on wikipedia as in the cast and has stated in interviews that she was filmed for the movie. I suspect they must have cut most of the scenes.
Helenaâs great - even if she did steal Kenneth Branagh from Emma Thompson. She has some significant scenes, but you might feel she is not center-stage enough. After all, the Harry Potter list of characters is pretty long and theyâve got a lot to sort out. Romances, horcruxes, villains, and explanations all need to be dealt with. Even Robbie Coltraine (Hagrid) pitches up pretty late in the movie. I am happy that Gary Oldman got to put in a brief appearance. For a 2-hour movie, they manage to fit in quite a bit of action, emotion, and exposition.
For somebody who claims not to be the biggest Harry Potter fan, I seem to have spent an inordinate amount of energy thinking about the screen time of all the characters.
The two reviews Iâve read on this side of the world were reasonably favorable, so you will probably leave the theater pleased, with minor disappointments about character portrayals and slight deviations from the book.
I guess I better watch it before someone spoils all of it.
Flushed Away: Brilliant.
Meet the Robinsons: Utter shite.
One about a haunted house: Too scary. Had to turn it off.
Happy Feet. Goddamned penguins can kiss my ass. But its the one the kid wants again and again. Bloody kids!
One about a TV dog actor who thinks heâs a real superdog. Pretty good.
[quote=âsandmanâ]
One about a TV dog actor who thinks heâs a real superdog. Pretty good.[/quote]
Bolt
I think that is John Travoltaâs voice.
Fish Underground (2001) Short âdocumentaryâ by Tsai Ming-liang consisting mostly of religious ceremonies and ⊠um ⊠shots of fish. So a bit weird, but I kind of liked it.
Seven Chances (1925) Fairly entertaining Buster Keaton film, but not his best. Basically he has to marry by 7:00PM in order to inherit a fortune. Hilarity ensues.
Safe (1995) Intriguing, but not exactly entertaining film starrin Julliane Moore as a rich California housewife who may or may not be developing some kind of hyper-allergic disorder.
She Done Him Wrong (1933) Mae West is great in this, her first and biggest star vehicle.
Riverworld (2010) Pretty terrible TV movie adaption of the sci-fi novels.
Just got the Seven Nights In Japan DVD. 
Just watched âCaptain Americaâ earlier. I enjoyed the hell out of it. :discodance:
[quote=âDougsterâ][quote=âtrubadourâ]The best movie I have seen recently is Norwegian Wood (2010). I particularly liked the cinematography, which was beautiful. I found the story quite strange and enjoyed watching the characters. Strong acting but not overdone.
I guess the best and most moving this year was probably The Kings Speech. Nice production values, too. Something very special about the theme which we can all relate to on a deep and meaningful level. I guess they failed with acting Churchill (although his acting lines were great), but that guy is a tough act to follow. I guess they made him slightly smaller than life for this role.
I tried to watch The Thin Red Line because the director has a new movie out and a back catalog which has been so much lauded by critics. I tried, but could not be convinced that watching this movie was going to be worth the effort. The same war movie as has been made so many other times and occasionally in far more interesting ways.
The best thing about it is the way your eye is occasionally directed to the rest of life (the incidental) that is continuing on around the absurdity of the âdramaâ. But this does not make up for the trite stereotypes which consist the plot and characters. And it is supposed to be âmanlyâ. Balls. I think âmanlyâ is here just an excuse for the doing the bleedinâ obvious one more time, like how the romantic in romantic-comedy is often an excuse for trotting out the same old clichĂ©s.[/quote]
I loved the âThin Red Lineâ. I thought it was so much better than âSaving Private Ryanâ which overshadowed it when it was released, because Mr Tom Hollywood Hanks was in it.[/quote]
I thought they were both grossly overrated.
Which two? Norwegian Wood and The Kingâs Speech or one of the aformentioned and The Thin Red Line? There were three mentioned there.
I agree, if you mean Norwegian Wood, but then again, I donât expect anyone could ever do justice to a Murakami novel on the screen.
Watched an interesting doco called The Vanishing of the Bees that was pretty interesting from a global farming perspective; interesting ideas about monocropping and systemic pesticidesâŠ